Transom draft-gear.



C. T. WESTLAKE.

TRANSOM DRAFT GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5. ma.

1 ,1 99, 1 35 Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

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UNITED STATES PATENT orrron.

CHARLES T. WESTLAKE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO TRANSOM DRAFT GEAR COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF DELAW'ARE.

TRANSOM DRAFT-GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26, 1913.

Application filed July 5, 1913. Serial No. 777,550.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES T. WYns'r- LAKE, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Transom Draft-Gear, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in WhlCh Figure 1 is a top plan view of a car body bolster, the same being partly in section and showing my improved draft gear associated therewith. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

My invention relates to that class of railway appliances known as draft gear, such devices being generally arranged between a transom or body bolster of the car underframe and the drawbar extension. The draft gear usually includes a member which is carried by the rear end of the drawbar extension and which cooperates with yielding pressure means or a friction device which is associated with the transom or body bolster.

The principal objects of my invention are to provide a simple, strong and durable connection between the drawbar extension and the car underframe, which connection is particularly designed so as to be readily combined with its cooperating parts and to be easily and quickly applied to or removed from the bolster and the draw-bar extension; further, to arrange a two-part yoke on the rear end of the drawbar extension which yoke operates through an opening in the transom or body bolster of the underframe, the rearward movement of which yoke under bufling stresses is limited by shoulders or lugs formed on the yoke and transom or underframe, and further, to combine with the yoke an ordinary form of spring or friction draft gear member which yieldingly resists the inward or rearward movement of the drawbar extension under buffing stresses, and which also yieldingly resists the outward movement of the yoke while the same is under pulling stresses.

To the above purposes my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, 10 designates a transom or body bolster, the same being preferably cast in a single piece, and formed through the center of this transom or bolster is an opening 11.

The yoke forming a part of my improved draft rigging is formed in two parts, each comprising a pair of parallel legs 31, the rear ends of which are united by a cross piece 32, and the forward ends of which are united by a vertically disposed plate 33. The two parts of the yoke are formed so as to gradually taper in length from. rear to front in order that the forward ends of said parts can be brought together to permit said ends and the outwardly projecting lugs 35 to be readily inserted through the draft gear opening in the bolster or car part with which the yoke is associated. This construction greatly simplifies and lessens the work incident to the assembling of the draft'gear, and consequently permits repairs and renewal of parts to be easily and quickly accomplished. The plates 33 are provided with suitable apertures to accommodate a key 34c and formed integral with the outer faces of said platesare vertically disposed ribs or lugs 35 which normally bear directly against vertically disposed walls or flanges 36 formed on the transom or body bolster at the sides of the central opening 11 therethrough. The rear end of the drawbar extension 22 is positioned between the plates 33 and formed in said rear end is a transversely disposed slot 37 which receives the key 34, and said slot is in length greater than the width of said key in order that the drawbar extension may move lengthwise inclependently of the key and yokes to which it is connected.

A follower block 38 is positioned directly against the rear end of the drawbar extension 22 and the sides of said block normally bear against the inner faces of the walls 36, the same being extended inwardly as designated by 36 between the legs 31 of the yokes and spring cylinder 39 is arranged between the two yokes as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the plunger 40 of said cylinder bears directly against the follower block 38. When the device is in use, buffing stresses imparted to the drawbar extension move the same rearwardly independently of the key 34 and yokes, and the force applied directly to the block 38 is transmitted to the plunger 40 of the draft gear. The cylinder 39 bears directly against the rear portions of the yokes 32, the same being held against rearward movement by the engagement of the lugs against the flanges or walls 36. During pulling movement upon the drawbar eX tension the yokes are pulled forward and the force transmitted through the parts 39 and are practically absorbed therein. During this action the plunger 40 bears against the follower block 38 and said block is held against movement by the engagement of its ends against the walls or flanges 36 In assembling the device, the forward ends of the two parts of the yoke are brought together and inserted in the opening in the bolster from the rear. In this connection, it will be noted that the forward ends of the two parts of the yoke are narrower than the rear portions, and this construction permits the lugs 35 to pass theflanges 36 when the parts are inserted in the bolster opening.

After the parts of the yoke have been inserted through the-bolster opening so that the lugs 35 occupy positions in front of the flanges 36 and before the forward portions of said yoke are spread apart, the follower plate 38 is inserted from the rear after which the friction cylinder 39 and its plunger are positioned between the parts of the yoke and while the spring between the plunger and cylinder is under compression the rear portions of the parts of the yoke are brought together .to the rear of the cylinder after which theforward ends of the parts are spread apart, thereby locating the lugs 35 against the flanges 36 and the rear end. of drawbar extension 32 is now positioned between and keyed to the parts of the yoke.

A transom draft gear of my improved construction is comparatively simple, com? prises a minimum number of parts which can be easily assembled or taken apart, and those forces resulting from pulling and bufiin g strains which are not absorbed in the spring or friction devices are transmitted directly to the transom or bolster forming a part of the car underframe.

It will bereadily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved draft gear can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of e which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Theherein described transom draft gear yoke formed in two separate parts, each of which comprises avertically disposed loop, the forward portions of the legs of which are united by an integral web in which is formed an opening adapted to receive a key, a vertically disposed lug projecting outwardly from the side of the web to the rear of the opening therein, which lug is adapted to engage a fixed part of 5a transom member with which the yoke is associated and both parts of the yoke being gradually tapered in width from rear toward their forward ends whereby the forward portions ofsaid parts may be ber of a car provided with a draft gear opening, of a yoke formed in two separate parts, each comprising a vertically disposed loop, the forward portions of the legs of which are united. by an integral web in which is formed an opening adapted to ,re-

ceive a key, a vertically disposed lug prov jecting outwardly from therear portion of the integral web, each of which members gradually tapers in width from rear toward.

its forward end, whereby the forward porttions of both members may be brought to gether so that said forward ends with the outwardly projecting lugs may readily be simultaneously inserted through the draft gear opening in the transom with which the yoke is associated.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses,- this 30th day of June, 1913.

CHARLES T, WESTLAK-E, V

IVitnesses FRED N. BLANKENHORN, HAL C. BELLVILLE.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by eddressingLthe Commissioner of Patents, WashingtomD. G. 

